It’s the time of year for a flurry of presents to make their way across the country and around the world. Since I get a lot of experience prepping packages at the Lemonade Stand, I thought I’d share some tips so that your goodies arrive the way you send them and on time.

Packing with care:

13. It is best to use new cardboard boxes. Some boxes are double walled or actually have a series of check boxes on the bottom for the number of uses it is rated for, but when in doubt use a new box to help prevent collapse and damage to contents.

12. Always use a big enough box for your goodies. If the contents are bowing out your box or creating a bulge on top, you risk things being crushed or broken while they are in transit. So be sure to leave enough room for plenty of packing materials.

11. There are a variety of packing materials to cushion your fragile items. Packing foam peanuts, bubblewrap, and foam egg carton pieces are the best because they have “memory” - they bounce back into shape as things shift. Paper can be used but remember it will crush down when contents shift - so use newsprint or kraft paper for filler on non-fragile items.

10. The order you stack things can also help protect fragile gifts. Place things like books on the bottom with wrapped breakables on top surrounded by those cushioning products to fill the rest of the space.

9. When closing your package, use packing tape rather than masking or transparent gift wrap tape. You get better adhesive keeping your box sealed tight.

8. Using at least 2″ packing tape, seal all of the edges. This will help prevent moisture seeping into your boxes and keep your gifts dry.

7. To help the delivery folks get your package to the right person, make sure the full accurate address is written in clear lettering with permanent marker. Using a label or even taping the address written on a piece of paper on a dark package can help as well.

6. Protect addresses with tape. It’s snowing and raining and dripping all over, you don’t want to delay delivery because of illegible address information. It’s not a bad idea to protect your return address too in case it would need to come back to you.

5. Confirm that someone will be there to receive the package. You may want to choose to have a signature required to make sure that gifts aren’t ruined or stolen because they are left on a porch while folks are away.

4. Often there is insurance included in your shipping cost, be sure it is enough to cover the value of replacing the gifts. Don’t add unnecessary coverage but it may be worth paying a few extra dollars for peace of mind.

3. Plan to give your package plenty of time to arrive. It’s more fun to create anticipation with the “Do Not Open till Christmas” on the outside than a phone call saying it will be there before New Year’s. You can use the websites for US Postal Service, UPS and FedEx to calculate both cost and transportation times.

2. If you don’t have a big window of time (and December 1st is Saturday), be aware that you get what you pay for. Choosing higher valued services like Overnite, Express, and Priority Mail means that those packages get on the truck first. When the truck fills, lower priced services like Parcel Post and even First Class Mail is left for the next available space.

1. The number one tip I can give you is be thorough. Take your time to get every thing inside that you want, that it’s properly packed and sealed, and that you have the correct address on the right packages. If you rush, you can make mistakes that can make a mess instead of making a Merry Christmas.

I hope this helps make packing up those gifts for the holidays a little less stressed and little more fun!

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